Steam-boiler-tube cleaner



(NoModel.) 4

LSEGOR.

. STEAM BOILEE TUBE CLEANER. No. 555,976,l l l Patented Mar. l0, 1896,

' WITNEEEEE,

IINTTED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

ALBERT SEOOR, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

STEAlVlf-BOlLER-TUBE CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,976, dated March10, 1896.

Application filed February 4,1895. Serial No' 537,183. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, ALBERT SEooE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler-Tube Cleaners, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In tubular boilers in which the Water is heated within the interior ofthe tubes great difficulty has heretofore been encountered in rcmovin gincrustations from the inner surface of the tubes, owing to thedifficulty of reaching their interior, especially at the points wherethe tubes are bent or curved.

My invention relates to and its object is to provide a simple, cheap andefficient means for removing the incrustations from the interior ofboiler-tubes and for overcoming the difficulties above pointed out. Iattain these results by means of the device hereinafter described, andshown and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, made part hereof, inwhich- Figure l is a side elevation of my device; Fig. 2, an endelevation of the same; Figf, a sectional view of one of the sections ofmy device, showing means for securing in place the teeth hereinafterreferred to; Fig. 4, a side elevation showing a modification of mydevice, and the method of securing the teeth hereinafter referred to;Fig. 5, a central lon gitudinal sectional vieu7 of a modification of mydevice and means of expanding and contracting the body of my device,hereinafter referred to; and Fig. 6 illustrates the threaded meetingfaces hereinafter referred to, whereby the contraction and expansion ofthe body of my device are attained.

Like letters represent like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A represents the barrel of my tube cleaner, preferablycylindrical in form. This barrel may be made solid, as in Fig. 4, ordivided into cross-sections b, as in Figs. 1 and 3, or in longitudinalsegmental sections c, as shown in Figs. 5 and fi. When the barrel isthus made up in sections, the parts are held together by a bolt CZ andnut e, the bolt passing axially through the center of the sectionalbarrel, as shown in Figs. l and 5.

f f are loops or eyes at either end of the barrel above referred to,formed either integrally therewith or being held in place by bolt d andnut e, as in Figs. I and 5.

Projecting radially from the barrel A are teeth g g, having outerextremities curved forward in the direction of the length of the barrelA, forming projecting cutting-edges g. In practice I prefer to arrangethe teeth spirally to the axis of the barrel A, as illustrated in Figs.l and 4. These teeth may be swaged or cast in place, or may be set in asocket formedv for that purpose and wedged in place by wedges g2, asshown in Fig. 4, or may be secured in position by means of pins g3,passing longitudinally through the barrel A and at a right angle throughthe shank of the teeth, as shown in Fig. 3.

The method of securing the teeth in position (shown in Fig. 4) by meansof wedges g2 permits the radial adjustment of the teeth so that theirwear may be taken up and so that the diameter of the device may bechanged to conform to variations in the diameter of the boiler-tubes.This result may also be attained by means of the modification shown inFigs. 5 and 6. In this example of my invention the end faces of thebarrel are provided with convolute grooves, as at h, and the adjoiningfaces of the looped end piecesI are provided with correspondingconvolute threads, as at h, fitting into the grooves 7L. The parts areheld against separation lengthwise by bolt d and nut e. The nut e beingloosened the turning of the barrel or the end pieces will, through theconvolutions 7L h', cause the sectors c composing the barrel,togetherwith their teeth, to spread apart or contract, as the case may be. Ifdesired, radial cutting* disks t may be j ournaled upon the barrelforward of the teeth, the office of these disks being to slice thetubular incrustations longitudinally preparatory to their being brokenup by the teeth which follow the cuttingedisks.

The operation of my device is as follows: To each of the links f issecured a chain or rope, preferably a chain.` The chain attached to theforward loop or eye is drawn through the tube to be cleaned, and bymeans of this rope or chain the instrument above described is drawnthrough the tube by a series of strong forward jerks upon thepullingchain, accompanied by a backward'and for- IOO Ward motionaccomplished by means of both the ropes or chains, the teeth as theyproceed loosening, cutting, and breaking the incrustations. Theshortness of the barrel of my device permits it to accommodate itself tothe curves and bends of the tubes Without lodgment.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. A boiler-tube cleaner, comprising a barrel, an eye or loop at eachend of said barrel, and radially-projecting teeth having Wedgelikecutting-edges projecting forwardly beyond the base of the teeth in thedirection of the length of the barrel, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

2. In a boiler-tube cleaner, the barrel, a loop or eye at each endthereof and radiallyprojecting cutting-teeth, in combination with meansfor the radial adjustment of said teeth, substantially as and for thepurpose speciiied.

3. In aboiler-tube cleaner, the barrel thereof having at each end an eyeor loop, radial cutting-teeth upon said barrel, and radial cutting-disksupon said barrel, in combination with means for the radial adjustment ofsaid cutting mechanisms, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a boiler-tube cleaner, the barrel thereof, having at each end aneye or loop and radially-projecting cutting-teeth, in combination withmeans for the radial adjustment of said teeth, and the cutting-disks,z', substantially as and for the purpose specified.

ALBERT SEGOB. In presence of 1. N. HUNTSBERGER, L. E. BROWN.

